I recently play tested a game for Electronic Arts. The experience was eye-opening. Quality assurance seems to be very critical. They pull as much opinion as they can out of you by asking specific questions on specific aspects of the played game. (I can’t mention the game, but it’s turning out to be a game worth purchasing in the future!) It was refreshing to know that the big companies like EA care about their product. At least that’s what I thought after I left the event.

That said, the marketing company behind the play-tests provide only EA games as payment, which seems fair enough. You drive a little ways, play a game few people have yet to play and tell what you think and you get a free game - Fair enough indeed. And so out of the few PS3 games available in their free bin (they were out of Army of Two), Need for Speed: Pro Street is what I chose for compensation and I really really wish that it would have been money instead.

After a couple days, I finally got around to playing NFS: PS, and I say playing very loosely. Upon inserting the disc there was a mandatory install which probably took a good hour, but then It was around dinnertime, so that may have affected the download rate. Never the less, an hour passed and finally, I’m playing.

The game starts with a  try out race that was dreadfully easy. After you win the try out, your character is invited to an event. At the event you have 4 races that you must place in order to gain a sponsor, in effect to progress to the next race event. Great!

So I easily won the whole event, chose a car as comp to build up with the cash I won - Fine and dandy! I saved the game and turned off the system to do other things.

The next day I returned  to the Pro-Street and fired up my savegame. It loaded fine, if fine were at the beginning of the first race event! WTF?! I calmed down. After all, it was only 15 minutes lost. I can do the events again, no problem.  

Wouldn’t you know it? At the fourth race (which was a drag race) NFS: PS decides to freeze right at the arm wave! That was it for me. The install made me wait way to long to finally play, my save game wasn’t saved and finally, the damn game froze as I was just about to once again progress. Strike three! Need for Speed: Pro Street: You are out! And the next day I traded it for some cds.  

Based on the fact that this game was flooded with bugs, I cannot approve the purchase of Need For Speed: Pro Street for the PS3 system. If you decide you want it, I suggest renting it first to see if it will work properly after the update. From the little I’ve seen, Pro-Street is not a bad game if you can get to actually play it. [rd]    6.9.2008